West Wichita restaurant makes sudden transition from one cuisine to another

In this episode of Dining With Denise, we take you to two restaurants that serve insanely spicy food. (Video by Jaime Green / The Wichita Eagle/June 8, 2017)

By

Up Next

In this episode of Dining With Denise, we take you to two restaurants that serve insanely spicy food. (Video by Jaime Green / The Wichita Eagle/June 8, 2017)

By

The last time I drove down West Central, which wasn’t that long ago, the little building at 5518 West Central was home to China Express, a tiny Chinese restaurant just off the ramp on to I-235.

Suddenly, that restaurant is gone and a new one has moved in.

At the beginning of the month, a local couple opened El Viejito Mexican Restaurant in the space. Their cook and co-owner previously owned a restaurant in Mexico, and he borrowed the name, which translates to “the old man,” from that time in his life.

The restaurant specializes in standard Mexican cuisine like tacos, taquitos, enchiladas and burritos. One of its specialties is huarache, a dish assembled on oval-shaped fried masa dough. The restaurant also serves seafood dishes.